Dear Editor,
I have decided to write this letter in response to Kaieteur News’ Glen Lall’s appeal for professionals to get involve in influencing the direction of our oil and gas industry. I had decided to stay out of the public space and discussions on oil and gas for two reasons: One, I wanted to give the government a fair chance to roll out their plans for oil and gas, and the second reason is that I felt the space was a bit busy.
The specific areas that I could support are: Component A – Enhancement of Legal Framework and Stakeholder Engagement, Sub-component A.2. – Support stakeholder engagement and transparency; Component B – Capacity Building of Key Institutions, Component B.1. Support immediate technical needs at key institutions with responsibility for Oil and Gas, Sub-component B.2. Support critical training needs at key institutions with responsibility for Oil and Gas, and Sub-component B.4. Strengthen Environmental and Social Management.
While agreements are extremely difficult, almost impossible to renegotiate, I was hoping to work with the Government on a programme similar to reforms that was done in Mexico. One of my recommendations to the government would have been to reform the judiciary, the criminal justice system, law enforcement, etc. so that investors would develop more confidence in the independence of the judicial and law enforcement systems, in an effort to strengthen Guyana’s negotiation ability. One aspect of negotiation could then be for investors to agree for at least a clause to be included in investment agreements for certain matters to be resolved in our local courts.
Foreign investors are protected under International Investment Laws, and one of the reasons why both the APNU+AFC and the PPP/C governments have been relatively silent on the renegotiation of the ExxonMobil agreement is because they are aware of this. These are international contractual agreements that have serious contractual obligations attached to them. Which brings into the discussion, international mechanisms for ‘Investor-State Dispute Resolutions/Settlements’. There are specific mechanisms internationally for foreign investors and states to settle disputes, which is another reason why both the APNU+AFC and the PPP/C government are almost silent on the renegotiation of the agreement in question.
Hence, another of my recommendations would have focused on; for example, it is very difficult for Third parties to join international dispute resolution cases, therefore if Guyana reforms its judicial system and investors’ confidence in the independence and professionalism of the local judicial system increases, our new model for agreements could include in environmental and human rights matters, third parties would be allowed to bring these matters against foreign investors, before the local courts. For example, if there is some kind of pollution in the waterways in an Amerindian community, representations from those communities would be able to seek redress in the local courts.
Other areas I was hoping to work with the government on are: harmonization of human rights and investment norms; interactions between human rights and investment treaty norms, aligning international investment treaty regime with human rights laws in Guyana; as well as examining tensions between human rights, law of the sea, environmental laws in the Guyana context and investment norms. In September, 2020, I wrote to the Vice President (Please see letter attached), expressing an interest in working with the government in these areas, and have not even received an acknowledgement of my letter from the government. However, on October 9, 2020, after all these good intentions, extensive research, and sacrifices in an effort to contribute towards the development of my country, my services were terminated. Additionally, the government cannot say that Guyanese do not have the expertise – persons such as myself and Dr. Vincent Adams were fired.
Finally, one of the reasons I was advocating that the Director of Public Prosecutions and Guyana Police Force and the public sector generally, operate professionally, is because I knew that in the larger scheme of things, investors feel a greater degree of confidence in a professional public and private sector, so it really is bigger than GECOM, much bigger. I am still hoping that if funding can be accessed, some aspects of the project can be implemented, even without the support of the government. Hence, I am hoping to begin some of this training in April, perhaps starting with the media on how to refocus its advocacy on oil and gas for greater impact.
Yours faithfully,
Audreyanna Thomas
